Former Hodgdon High School basketball star Chris Hudson is a champion for the third straight winter.
The 6-foot-5-inch forward, a senior at Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Massachusetts, recently helped his team win its second straight New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class A championship.
Hudson scored a team-high 15 points as the second-ranked Wildcats defeated top-ranked Phillips Exeter (New Hampshire) 56-53 in the championship game played at Rhode Island College in Providence, Rhode Island.
Hudson subsequently was named to the All-NEPSAC Class A second team for his contributions to Williston’s 22-5 season.
Hudson and his family moved to Hodgdon in 2009, and he went on to earn Bangor Daily News All-Maine third-team recognition as a high school junior when he averaged 24 points and 16 rebounds per game to lead the Hawks to the 2014 Class D state championship.
He went on to play the following summer for a Maine Athletic Club 17-and-under AAU team coached by Carl Parker that finished 11th among 99 teams at the AAU Division I 11th-Grade National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
Hudson then transferred to Williston Northampton, enrolling as a high school junior under a practice commonly used by New England prep schools known as “reclassifying,” in which transferring students repeat a year of high school before embarking on their senior year in order to become better prepared for college life.
He will graduate from Williston Northampton in June 2016.
Hudson also helped Williston Northampton win the 2015 NEPSAC Class A championship during his first year on campus, contributing 11 points to the Wildcats’ 51-48 victory over Suffield (Connecticut) Academy in the title game.
Coaches recognized for milestones
While the Maine McDonalds’ High School All-Star Weekend is best known for crowning the state’s Mr. and Miss Maine Basketball as well as hosting all-star games featuring the state’s top senior players, it also is an important time of year for the coaching community.
During a break in Saturday’s games at Husson University in Bangor, the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches recognized those within their brethren who recently achieved career varsity victory milestones.
Heading that list was longtime Boothbay boys coach I.J. Pinkham, who this past season became the first boys varsity coach in state history to surpass 600 career victories. Pinkham previously was honored during his school’s winter sports banquet.
Those recognized Saturday included Rick Clark of York High School for his more than 500 career victories with the Wildcats girls squad. Clark recently retired from that post after capping off his career this winter by leading York to a 22-0 record and the Class A state championship with a dramatic 58-57 victory over defending state champion Lawrence of Fairfield.
Three coaches were recognized for achieving 400 career wins: Mark Karter of Gorham, Tony DiBiase of Scarborough and Bill McAvoy of Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook.
Randy Harris of Lee Academy and Nick DePatsy of Medomak Valley of Waldoboro were honored for reaching 300 career victories, along with Heidi Deery of Rangeley, Paul True of Lake Region of Naples, Mike Murphy of Deering of Portland and Jim Ray of Cape Elizabeth.
Clayton Blood of Brewer, Mike Zamarchi of Marshwood of South Berwick and Mike Giordano of Scarborough each surpassed 200 career victories, while joining the 100-win club were Laughn Berthiaume of Gorham, Matt Breen of Oceanside of Rockland/Thomaston, Brian Gaw of Piscataquis of Guilford, Jason Pellerin of Lawrence, Don Abbott of Wells, Scott Wing of Monmouth Academy, Darrick Thompson of Schenck of East Millinocket, Bill Goodman of Catherine McAuley of Portland, and Nate Pelletier of Oxford Hills of South Paris.
